Read Online HM02 House of Moons by K.D. Wentworth - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: K.D. Wentworth
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sister.”
Adrina glanced at the still form in Kevisson’s arms. “Is she—is—” A tear welled up, then trickled down the curve of her cheek.
“Bless me, child, she’s fine.” Enissa placed one hand on the silken hair. “She’s just worn out from lighting the torch. That was a very big job for such a small girl, you know.”
Adrina pressed her lips together and looked doubtful. Enissa bent over and folded her into a damp hug. “Just you wait and see,” she murmured into wet hair that smelled so much like that of her own three children, now long grown. “Now, let’s go get out of these wet clothes!”
Kevisson stepped out of the portal onto the crushed gravel path and headed for the gray stone building. Taking Adrina’s hand again, Enissa followed, then was startled by a low rumbling snarl.
The little girl looked around fearfully, then pressed closer to her side. “What was that?”
“That’s just a silsha,” Enissa said with more assurance than she really felt. Try as she might, she had never been able to work up the sort of link with the lithe, black-furred beasts for which Haemas Tal was justly famous. They never seemed anything to her except the savage killers of the forest she’d always heard about.
“A silsha?” Adrina’s voice was very low. “Like the ones that go after the horses and the ebari?”
“Not exactly.” Kevisson glanced back over his shoulder and winked. “These are a little larger, and they love little girls.”
Enissa grimaced at him. That’s exaggerating a bit, isn’t it?
Well, not the size part, anyway.
Ahead of them, the massive double doors opened and a slender figure dressed in gray dashed down the path toward them. About fifty feet away, a muscular black beast leaped to the top of the low garden wall, then threw back its tuft-eared head and roared with a full-throated rage that rattled Enissa’s bones.
“Mercy!” She quickened her pace to draw even with Kevisson. “I’ve never known them to make such a racket before.”
“I have.” His lean face was grim.
“Lady Enissa!” The running figure waved at them, then slowed. “Lady Enissa, I’m so glad you’re back!”
Enissa recognized young Meryet Alimn. “Goodness, Meryet, no wonder the silshas are upset. What could possibly be worth all this dashing about in the dark?”
“She’s gone! We can’t find her anywhere, not even a trace, and the silshas have been furious ever since last night and—” Meryet broke off to gasp a breath. “And—”
“Who, child?” Enissa shook her head. “Who’s gone?”
“Oh.” Meryet glanced from her face to Kevisson’s, then back. “The Lady Haemas. We looked for her last night when the silshas became so loud, to calm them, but she was gone and she hasn’t come back and no one has seen her! We thought maybe she went—with—” The girl faltered as she read the message written on Enissa’s face.
Closing her eyes, Enissa cast her mind through the House of Moons, then the area close by, seeking some trace of the young woman she had come to look upon as a daughter, some hint of what had become of her, but there was only a disturbing blankness.
“We’re afraid—” Meryet stopped and put a hand on the bodice of her overtunic, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “I mean—she wouldn’t just go off like that, not without telling someone.”
Kevisson clutched the sleeping child more closely in his arms. “No, she wouldn’t.”
“And the silshas are so angry.” Meryet glanced at the one crouching on the wall, then winced as its snarl rumbled ominously through the darkness. “It’s as if they know something we don’t, something terrible.”
Kevisson walked toward the front doors, his long strides crunching the ice-coated gravel in the crisp stillness. “They do.”
“YOU MIGHT AS WELL eat it; you won’t get anything else.” The woman called Axia held out a chipped blue-and-white bowl of congealing meat broth in one hand, her other
Adrina glanced at the still form in Kevisson’s arms. “Is she—is—” A tear welled up, then trickled down the curve of her cheek.
“Bless me, child, she’s fine.” Enissa placed one hand on the silken hair. “She’s just worn out from lighting the torch. That was a very big job for such a small girl, you know.”
Adrina pressed her lips together and looked doubtful. Enissa bent over and folded her into a damp hug. “Just you wait and see,” she murmured into wet hair that smelled so much like that of her own three children, now long grown. “Now, let’s go get out of these wet clothes!”
Kevisson stepped out of the portal onto the crushed gravel path and headed for the gray stone building. Taking Adrina’s hand again, Enissa followed, then was startled by a low rumbling snarl.
The little girl looked around fearfully, then pressed closer to her side. “What was that?”
“That’s just a silsha,” Enissa said with more assurance than she really felt. Try as she might, she had never been able to work up the sort of link with the lithe, black-furred beasts for which Haemas Tal was justly famous. They never seemed anything to her except the savage killers of the forest she’d always heard about.
“A silsha?” Adrina’s voice was very low. “Like the ones that go after the horses and the ebari?”
“Not exactly.” Kevisson glanced back over his shoulder and winked. “These are a little larger, and they love little girls.”
Enissa grimaced at him. That’s exaggerating a bit, isn’t it?
Well, not the size part, anyway.
Ahead of them, the massive double doors opened and a slender figure dressed in gray dashed down the path toward them. About fifty feet away, a muscular black beast leaped to the top of the low garden wall, then threw back its tuft-eared head and roared with a full-throated rage that rattled Enissa’s bones.
“Mercy!” She quickened her pace to draw even with Kevisson. “I’ve never known them to make such a racket before.”
“I have.” His lean face was grim.
“Lady Enissa!” The running figure waved at them, then slowed. “Lady Enissa, I’m so glad you’re back!”
Enissa recognized young Meryet Alimn. “Goodness, Meryet, no wonder the silshas are upset. What could possibly be worth all this dashing about in the dark?”
“She’s gone! We can’t find her anywhere, not even a trace, and the silshas have been furious ever since last night and—” Meryet broke off to gasp a breath. “And—”
“Who, child?” Enissa shook her head. “Who’s gone?”
“Oh.” Meryet glanced from her face to Kevisson’s, then back. “The Lady Haemas. We looked for her last night when the silshas became so loud, to calm them, but she was gone and she hasn’t come back and no one has seen her! We thought maybe she went—with—” The girl faltered as she read the message written on Enissa’s face.
Closing her eyes, Enissa cast her mind through the House of Moons, then the area close by, seeking some trace of the young woman she had come to look upon as a daughter, some hint of what had become of her, but there was only a disturbing blankness.
“We’re afraid—” Meryet stopped and put a hand on the bodice of her overtunic, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “I mean—she wouldn’t just go off like that, not without telling someone.”
Kevisson clutched the sleeping child more closely in his arms. “No, she wouldn’t.”
“And the silshas are so angry.” Meryet glanced at the one crouching on the wall, then winced as its snarl rumbled ominously through the darkness. “It’s as if they know something we don’t, something terrible.”
Kevisson walked toward the front doors, his long strides crunching the ice-coated gravel in the crisp stillness. “They do.”
“YOU MIGHT AS WELL eat it; you won’t get anything else.” The woman called Axia held out a chipped blue-and-white bowl of congealing meat broth in one hand, her other
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